I have a few Baphomets that I coated with nail polish. It worked for a little while but now the silver is starting to change color to green-oxidizing? It has been awhile since I coated it so I am not sure that it is the nail polish or just age.How can I get the green to go away - if I can?Can a jeweler restore the silver in the lines?Thanks ahead of time.

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All Hail Satan, for I shall ever be his mouth in this blessed and righteous Kingdom of the United!

"Don't you see? If the gays can get married then the whole institution of marriage will be destroyed! Society will crumble! Rivers will run red with blood! And Nazis will walk the earth riding dinosaurs!" Princess Clara, the unsung voice of the Christian right.

I think it looks as such any jewelry you see in the polishing and repair what can color green is very rare because it is silver, it just happens to the metal or iron imitation never seen what happened that with the silver but according and also saw that the silver come as a crust similar to the color you mentioned with a polished fix it, and I recommend that the jewelry buying a special liquid to clean silver with moisture as it passes

Greetings!

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"The monkeys are too good for that man can be descended from them." 1844-1900. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Coating your Baphomets with nail polish was a wise decision. In the future, you may wish to consider using Krylon clear enamel (available at most hardware stores in a spray paint style can) or Renaissance Wax. I use both on a regular basis, and can explain the application process if you wish. However, any protective coating will wear off over time, which is why your silver is changing color.

Sterling silver is a fine silver/copper alloy. The the oxidation of the copper explains the green-oxidizing (think of old copper roofs). Oxidation is only occurs at the surface level and is completely removable. The ideal solution would be for you to have a jeweler do a clean & polish. They should use various grits of sandpaper, a lapidary wheel, and several grades of buffing abrasives to remove all signs of wear and restore it to like new condition. It is important that the jeweler you go to has experience with silver, gold is much easier to clean and maintain. You could also request that they raise the fine silver (a.k.a. depletion guild when referring to gold), which would remove the copper from the surface of the Baphomets so that there is a layer of fine silver on top (which oxidizes much slower than sterling).

I don't have enough information to tell you exactly what to do, but I will make a few suggestions that will hopefully be helpful. If the green is simply on the surface, you should be able to remove it using a brief dip in a commercially available silver cleaner followed by hand-buffing with a red rouge polishing cloth (I use the Sunshine brand). If the greenish color is in the recessed areas AND your Baphomets have a satin/brushed/matte finish, you can use toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush, followed with the rouge cloth. If your Baphomets have a mirror finish/high polish using any abrasive (including toothpaste) will ruin the finish (chances are this isn't an issue, if they've been worn enough that the nail polish has come off a high polish will have vanished a long time ago). Oxidation occurs more slowly on pieces that have a high polish because there is no "tooth" for the oxidation to hold on to.

I think about and work with jewelry for the vast majority of my day, even my free time. Bring up jewelry or metalworking and I'll be talking for hours. If you have any other questions, I'm around.

P.S. Thanks for the page Scion ... but do you really think I'd gloss over a post with the word jewelry in the title?

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** former username Ealaiontor **

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them." - Marilyn Monroe

While on this subject, many years back I bought a sterling silver Sigil of Baphomet necklace which had some sort of black enamel filled in all the spaces. In recent years, the enamel has started to chip and break off. I've seen rings of the same style where the same thing happened. I bought mine YEARS ago at the CoS Emporium and as I understand it this line has been long discontinued.

Has anybody had this same style and repaired it? I'll probably just end up taking it to a local jewelry store anyway, but I was just curious.

Awesome! I could try to do this at home, although I could send it out, I am willing to pay quite a bit to have it fixed but the huge problem is that I don't want to send it out. It is my medallion from the High Mass in 06. These items you talk about-can they be found at Wal-Mart?Thanks again, I was thinking I was going to have to throw them out!

Walmart should have a silver dip/cleaner in the jewelry section. Just make sure the dip is brief (if you leave it in too long it can actually strip the silver off and leave a brownish copper residue on the surface). I would purchase a soft toothbrush designed for babies or toddlers, if the brush is too hard it will cause scratches. Walmart will probably have a polishing cloth in the jewelry section, but I can't vouch for the quality of theirs. I mail order a lot of my supplies from Rio Grande, although it might not be exactly easy for you to get an account with them (they sell to professionals and trade students). They also carry the Renaissance Wax that I mentioned and you should be able to pick up the Krylon during a trip to home depot.

This should remove the oxidation, but will not remove scratches or other signs of wear. You would get the best results sending it out, but I understand your hesitation to do so. Best of luck!

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** former username Ealaiontor **

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them." - Marilyn Monroe

Do you have a picture ? The reason I ask is because there are two different types of enamel. There is the original ground glass particles that are fused to the metal (as in champleve, cloisonne, or baisse taille enameling). There are also low-fire enamels, that are still glass. Additionally, a lot of people refer to tinted epoxy-resin as enamel. I could explain the steps for doing a repair for each type of enamel, but there is a substantial learning curve. Unless you want to delve into the world of enameling and related metalsmithing, I would suggest sending it out to get repaired. Most repairs (even with traditional glass enamel) will be done using tinted epoxy-resin because there are too many unknown variables when dealing with a mystery enameled piece, unless you can obtain more (i.e. very specific) information from the CoS Emporium about what materials were used. As a side note, enamel repairs are often considered custom repairs and can be expensive.

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** former username Ealaiontor **

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them." - Marilyn Monroe

No the enamel is fine. I have had enamel from my other baphomets chip before but that doesn't happen now that I have coated them with nail polish. The only thing wrong with them is the silver lines of the baphomet are going green.Anyway I believe the type of enamel is Cloisonne-but like I said the enamel is fine. I am worried though that if I don't fix the silver parts it will ruin the enamel eventually.I forgot that there is a Michael's over the hill so I will probably find what I need there.I think at this point I may be able to polish it like you suggested.

I'm glad Elaiontoir posted - hopefully my post looks less like the ravings of a madman to you now DickSteele.

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All Hail Satan, for I shall ever be his mouth in this blessed and righteous Kingdom of the United!

"Don't you see? If the gays can get married then the whole institution of marriage will be destroyed! Society will crumble! Rivers will run red with blood! And Nazis will walk the earth riding dinosaurs!" Princess Clara, the unsung voice of the Christian right.